Lose weight without starving myself

JulieeeeJ

Hey everyone.
I've wanted to lose weight for a long time now, and I've gotten a nicer body and healthier as well. My current weight is 69-70 kg. I wanna be 65 kg. I'm 5'7. My mom was concerned about me, because I'm not fat, i just want to lose this extra roll of fat on my stomach. I used to eat under my calorie goal and i thought that the less I'm eating the more I'm losing. I'm exercising every second day, running 4 miles. It stopped my period and that kinda made me nervous. So how am I supposed to lose this extra roll of fat without starving myself and without hurting my organs and other things in my body, such as my period. I really don't wanna gain weight, i just wanna lose a little weight without "hurting" my body and when I'm around the 65 kg, I'll just maintain it there. The last thing i wanna be is anorexic, and i really don't wanna be skinny, i just wanna be fit. But I thought i ate too much, (breakfast, 2 crisp bread, 2 pieces of fruit and big portion dinner) which i apparently don't - according to my mom. I don't know if its just her, because she dosen't want me to lose weight, obviously because she's my mother. But i still want to have a bikini body, so i can actually feel comfortable walking at the beach in a bikini. Am i eating too little to keep my metabolism going or something? Please someone explain what is wrong, and what shall i do?

Thanks! :-)

JustYandy

Try gaining muscle in your problem areas...it's not just weight that causes problem areas it's your body fat %.You can lose weight and not change your bodyfat because you loose lean muscle mass along with little to no fat.I would weight lift to tone up

waltcote

Would have to see your diary to tell what you are eating. Right off hand maybe you need to do more then run. Some strength and cross type training might help get rid of the "roll." :bigsmile:

BattleTaxi

Worry less about the number on the scale. Lowering your body fat percentage is more important. Building muscle in areas that you want to lose fat in will help. Just keep in mind, you may gain from muscle, but you will lose inches of fat and lower your body fat %.

auntiebabs

The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

++Track for a week or two before worrying about losing. This way you'll see where you really stand odds are it is different than where you thought you were, which is actually good news...

++Be scrupulously honest... you can lie to your friends, you can lie in your diary, you can lie to yourself, but YOUR BODY KNOWS EVERYTHING YOU EAT. So you might as well be honest in your diary (keep it private if you like) but you need that info because you can't get where you are going if your are not honest about where you are right now.

++See where you can make small changes on things that aren't so important to you.
(Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
--Reducing quantities
--Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

++Focus on what you should eat not what your shouldn't.
Eating your nutritious foods first. Your body will be more satisfied and have less cravings.

++Small sustainable changes.
If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort, sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves. Also rather than having to think about everything all the time. You only have to think about a 2 or 3 new things to focus on.

++Rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. (I swear this saved my life.) I was happier once I gave myself a range:

ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.

---

(SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

---

++Only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
Forget I *NEED* to lose 20, 30, 50, 100 lbs. I'm only worried about 1 lb the next one. I'll worry about the others later.
Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

++Think of losing weight like the stock market Yes, there will be fluctuations but as long as the overall trend is the the right direction don't worry


Food is not the enemy. You need nutrition to fuel your body and make it strong.

Most vitamins are fat soluable... so remember to include plant and fish based fats (HAPPY FATS) so you can access the nutrients in your food.

All of your foods fall into 1 or more of 3 macro nutrient categories
FATS • CARBS • PROTIENS ... I personally think it's unwise to severely restrict any one of these categories.
Instead of eliminating or limiting quantity focus on the quality...

HAPPY FATS (Plant and fish bases)
COMPLEX CARBS (un or minimally processed)
LEAN PROTEINS

Oddly enough, on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

gk03ub

That is WAY too little food.

If all you ate today was, as you stated, "breakfast, 2 crisp bread, 2 pieces of fruit and big portion dinner", thats crazy and yes, your mother has the right to be concerned.

One thing you need to realize is that YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT EVEN BY EATING. You do NOT EVER need to starve yourself to lose weight. Your behaviour could lead to serious mental and physical issues. Please, don't damage your health.

JustYandy

Working out takes a ton of energy, so in order for your body to keep up, it will begin to shut down unnecessary functions to use what little energy it has to keep your basic life functions going. Since menstruation is not vital to your (its purpose is to reproduce) your body will turn off the function to save energy. The good news is that usually when you begin cutting down on the exercise, and your body gets the nutrition and calories it needs, your periods should come back. Likewise, if your body fat percentage is much higher than the normal level for your height, periods can also stop.

Exercise and body weight aren't the only things that can affect your cycle, and a missing period isn't a disease, it's a symptom. If you're suffering from irregular or missed periods, make an appointment with your gynecologist so they can help you figure out how to get your period back

JulieeeeJ

So how much should I eat then? Because the last thing i wanna do is to damage my body and my health.

MikeOLMT

One thing I've found that helps the metabolic process is to reverse your meal sizes.

Larger breakfast and lunch, small dinner.

Think about it, if you eat a large evening meal, and don't workout after, your body can't burn the calories taken in, and you store it.

Have your starchy carbs with breakfast. You need the carb fuel for the day early. Plus this gives you time to burn it since you eat them early.

Have small amount of starch with lunch. Not a huge amount, just enough to make a sandwich, or some sweet potato with your meal.

Dinner should be a lean protien and vegetables. This change alone will make a huge difference, it has helped me greatly!!! I wish I could have found this secret out a long time ago. Also, make sure you're drinking plenty of water!!!

Keep your portion sizes under control. Also, eating less than your calorie goals for the day, when you only have a few Kg to lose will make it harder. If you have to, have a mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack to balance out your blood sugar during the day. This was a key for me to help rev up my metabolism. Eating 5 smaller meals spaced out during the day, while sticking to your calorie goals will help!

Good luck!!
Mike

MikeOLMT

Oh, and YES... you need to eat to lose weight!!!!

Starving yourself is not the answer. Your body will go into starvation mode and store EVERY CALORIE you eat!!!!

Eat smaller meals, more often, and watch the results!!

Don't forget to drink water!!!!!!!

JulieeeeJ

Thank you!!! This sounds good, I haven't seen it in that way before. So I'll eat more, but smaller portions during the day and drink more water.

One thing I've found that helps the metabolic process is to reverse your meal sizes.

Larger breakfast and lunch, small dinner.

Think about it, if you eat a large evening meal, and don't workout after, your body can't burn the calories taken in, and you store it.

Have your starchy carbs with breakfast. You need the carb fuel for the day early. Plus this gives you time to burn it since you eat them early.

Have small amount of starch with lunch. Not a huge amount, just enough to make a sandwich, or some sweet potato with your meal.

Dinner should be a lean protien and vegetables. This change alone will make a huge difference, it has helped me greatly!!! I wish I could have found this secret out a long time ago. Also, make sure you're drinking plenty of water!!!

Keep your portion sizes under control. Also, eating less than your calorie goals for the day, when you only have a few Kg to lose will make it harder. If you have to, have a mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack to balance out your blood sugar during the day. This was a key for me to help rev up my metabolism. Eating 5 smaller meals spaced out during the day, while sticking to your calorie goals will help!

Good luck!!
Mike

Athijade

One thing I've found that helps the metabolic process is to reverse your meal sizes.

Larger breakfast and lunch, small dinner.

Think about it, if you eat a large evening meal, and don't workout after, your body can't burn the calories taken in, and you store it.

Have your starchy carbs with breakfast. You need the carb fuel for the day early. Plus this gives you time to burn it since you eat them early.

Have small amount of starch with lunch. Not a huge amount, just enough to make a sandwich, or some sweet potato with your meal.

Dinner should be a lean protien and vegetables. This change alone will make a huge difference, it has helped me greatly!!! I wish I could have found this secret out a long time ago. Also, make sure you're drinking plenty of water!!!

Keep your portion sizes under control. Also, eating less than your calorie goals for the day, when you only have a few Kg to lose will make it harder. If you have to, have a mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack to balance out your blood sugar during the day. This was a key for me to help rev up my metabolism. Eating 5 smaller meals spaced out during the day, while sticking to your calorie goals will help!

Good luck!!
Mike

And none of this is based on science. Meal size, timing, and frequency has no impact on metabolic rate.

splitaces

Hey everyone.
I've wanted to lose weight for a long time now, and I've gotten a nicer body and healthier as well. My current weight is 69-70 kg. I wanna be 65 kg. I'm 5'7. My mom was concerned about me, because I'm not fat, i just want to lose this extra roll of fat on my stomach. I used to eat under my calorie goal and i thought that the less I'm eating the more I'm losing. I'm exercising every second day, running 4 miles. It stopped my period and that kinda made me nervous. So how am I supposed to lose this extra roll of fat without starving myself and without hurting my organs and other things in my body, such as my period. I really don't wanna gain weight, i just wanna lose a little weight without "hurting" my body and when I'm around the 65 kg, I'll just maintain it there. The last thing i wanna be is anorexic, and i really don't wanna be skinny, i just wanna be fit. But I thought i ate too much, (breakfast, 2 crisp bread, 2 pieces of fruit and big portion dinner) which i apparently don't - according to my mom. I don't know if its just her, because she dosen't want me to lose weight, obviously because she's my mother. But i still want to have a bikini body, so i can actually feel comfortable walking at the beach in a bikini. Am i eating too little to keep my metabolism going or something? Please someone explain what is wrong, and what shall i do?

Thanks! :-)

this is something that works really well as long as you still do fitness, if you eat the normal three meals a day but for breakfast u eat a king size meal or large meal, then for lunch you eat a princes meal or medium size meal, then for dinner u eat a poppers meal or small meal, also if as soon as u wake up u drink a glass of water so it starts ur metabolism, and by eating very little before u go to bed ur body wont have very much to digest which in turn makes it so that ur body cant make any fat while u sleep, because while u sleep everything u ate before u went to bed turns into fat, since u aren't doing any exercises or anything that can burn off the calories u ate before sleep.

stealthq

Worry less about the number on the scale. Lowering your body fat percentage is more important. Building muscle in areas that you want to lose fat in will help. Just keep in mind, you may gain from muscle, but you will lose inches of fat and lower your body fat %.

Bingo.

OP, head over to the Fitness and Exercise forum and ask for advice on reducing your body fat. Tell them your age, height, weight, current exercise and make sure your diary is open so they can give informed advice. Listen to the people who have already achieved what you want.

TEMMEAlexa

Starvation does not lead to weight loss instead your body stores calories from whatever your food intake is. And, also four miles running won't help a lot since not everything is suitable for everyone. Eat healthy, don't starve. You will see the difference. Try to take more fruits and water.

33Freya

Talk to your doctor - and work to build some muscle- you'll have to eat more to do this. Find a trainer or lifting program...

...but first talk to your doctor.

retirehappy

So how much should I eat then? Because the last thing i wanna do is to damage my body and my health.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

Read that. You are about right in wanting to be 65KG for your height, according to the NHS chart.

Do some strength training,it is good for you.

Polly758

i am 5'7" and I am 65 kg. I do not starve myself and I refuse to do that, same as you. I eat around 1800 calories a day. At this stage, for people like you and me with just a bit of fat to lose, we can either 1) starve ourselves down to 1200 and wait, fat loss MIGHT happen, but more likely our metabolisms will just slow down more. 2) exercise more and tighten up the diet, which it sounds like you're doing, this will take time, it's very unlikely that you'll lose 1 lb a week at this stage. Or 3) do a weight lifting program with HEAVY WEIGHT in order to gain muscle and lose fat, thereby changing body composition.

I myself am doing 2 and 3: exercising more and lifting weights because I enjoy both, but I'm not tightening up my diet because I just plain don't want to

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a fun lifting program I've done in the past, I have recently switched to something simpler however.

Try lifting! it'll change your body and I bet you'll love it.

retirehappy

The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

++Track for a week or two before worrying about losing. This way you'll see where you really stand odds are it is different than where you thought you were, which is actually good news...

++Be scrupulously honest... you can lie to your friends, you can lie in your diary, you can lie to yourself, but YOUR BODY KNOWS EVERYTHING YOU EAT. So you might as well be honest in your diary (keep it private if you like) but you need that info because you can't get where you are going if your are not honest about where you are right now.

++See where you can make small changes on things that aren't so important to you.
(Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
--Reducing quantities
--Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

++Focus on what you should eat not what your shouldn't.
Eating your nutritious foods first. Your body will be more satisfied and have less cravings.

++Small sustainable changes.
If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort, sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves. Also rather than having to think about everything all the time. You only have to think about a 2 or 3 new things to focus on.

++Rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. (I swear this saved my life.) I was happier once I gave myself a range:

ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.

---

(SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

---

++Only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
Forget I *NEED* to lose 20, 30, 50, 100 lbs. I'm only worried about 1 lb the next one. I'll worry about the others later.
Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

++Think of losing weight like the stock market Yes, there will be fluctuations but as long as the overall trend is the the right direction don't worry


Food is not the enemy. You need nutrition to fuel your body and make it strong.

Most vitamins are fat soluable... so remember to include plant and fish based fats (HAPPY FATS) so you can access the nutrients in your food.

All of your foods fall into 1 or more of 3 macro nutrient categories
FATS • CARBS • PROTIENS ... I personally think it's unwise to severely restrict any one of these categories.
Instead of eliminating or limiting quantity focus on the quality...

HAPPY FATS (Plant and fish bases)
COMPLEX CARBS (un or minimally processed)
LEAN PROTEINS

Oddly enough, on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

Great post!

diannethegeek

So how much should I eat then? Because the last thing i wanna do is to damage my body and my health.

There's no way for us to give you an idea of how much to eat without knowing your stats. You have two basic choices.

You can set your MFP profile up accurately and let it set your goal for you. Set it to lose no more than 1 pound/week, log your exercise and eat back a majority of the earned calories.

Or you can plug your numbers into a TDEE calculator (like: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/) to get and estimate of how many calories your body burns in a day. Take a moderate cut from that (about 10-20%) and eat that number.

Remember that these are all based on estimates. You may need to adjust a little up or a little down to find your sweet spot.

anathywillbedone

You say your period stopped. This sounds like you have already been starving yourself for some time. Eat more and do some plank excercises to tone your stomach. But first consult your doctor about your diet.